Moving Beyond Mainstream Books: How to Find Great Indie Authors

For every great author you see heavily promoted through a publisher, there are countless other wonderful writers who never land a publishing deal. For some that’s entirely by choice — it’s a business decision. Others give up on trying to land an agent or publisher and decide to go solo as a result.

If you’re looking for something new to read in your favorite genre, indie authors might have just what you’re looking for — from simple pleasure reading to highly specific research materials. But some people are hesitant to give indie authors a try due to a negative image they have of self-published writers. Let’s look at one of the biggest misconceptions people have about indie authors, why you might be interested in them, and how you can find good indie authors when you’re looking for a new book to read.

Myths About Independent Authors

There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about indie authors and those who self-publish their work. But the biggest has to do with perceived quality issues before readers even look at the work in question. Let’s look at the reality.

Myth: Self-published authors aren’t any good or they would have publishing contracts with a publishing house.

Do you judge indie authors before reading their work? - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

Fact: Yes, there are plenty of self-published books that probably should never have been published. At the same time, if you read enough reviews you’ll see that readers can feel the same way about traditionally published books. The fact is, publishing is changing. These days more than ever many authors make the choice to publish their books and e-books independently of publishers for business reasons. For some, they target a market that’s very narrow so there aren’t enough readers to interest a publishing house even if the book is great. For others, independent publishing can actually bring in much more money than traditionally publishing their books.

I’m an example of the latter. I have experience running a business and a strong background in marketing and PR (specifically promoting independent and creative professionals). I also have a large audience already built in my target market. I can also afford to finance the publication by hand-picking the best editors, designers, and others for the job rather than relying on a group assembled by a third party publisher. Therefore a publishing company can’t offer me anything I can’t already do for myself, and I can earn a much larger profit in the process. For a writer who only wants to write and who wants to leave the design, typesetting, marketing, and such to someone else it would make more sense to go with a publisher. Working independently is no reflection on a book’s quality. That comes down to each author’s process, and you can usually determine quality based on reviews — especially given how easy it is to share reviews these days via social media.

Why You Might be Interested in Independent Authors

There are a few reasons you might want to check out independently published books. For example:

You might be interested in very specific subject matter that doesn’t have a large audience. For instance, I study my family’s history. I was able to find independently published books about specific members of my family who were of historical significance, including old wills and other documents a traditional publisher would have no interest in.

You want to support the independent arts, such as if you’re an artist yourself.

You want more variety. If you can’t find new books that interest you in your favorite niche from traditional publishers, indie authors can help you fill in the gaps until the next book in your favorite series is released.

Many indie published books are nonfiction books written by industry experts who are entrepreneurial in spirit (why they choose indie publishing). You probably wouldn’t even know these books were self-published if the author doesn’t tell you.

You’re interested in very timely material. It can take a year or two for a traditionally published book to hit the market. If you want a book about a timely issue, you might find more options available from indie authors.

You don’t like waiting. That delay in the publishing process can also lead to big gaps in between books in a series. Indie authors can often publish books in their series much faster, allowing you to continue with your story sooner.

You’re interested in shorter works — like short stories or novellas. With the growth in e-publishing, indie authors are finding a new home for shorter works of fiction that are less frequently published by traditional publishing companies.

How to Find Interesting Indie Published Books

Now that you know indie published books can be just as good as traditionally published books, where can you go to find them? It shouldn’t be difficult. The best indie books are usually found in the same places you might look for books online anyway.

Amazon is one of the biggest sellers of indie published books right now, especially e-books. You can also check online sellers like CreateSpace and SmashWords if you’re specifically interested in e-books. And of course you can search for authors in your favorite search engine by looking for books in the genres that interest you. Many sell their books on their own websites. If you’re looking for hyper-local information, you can often find those indie published books in a local bookstore.

Do you have a favorite book or e-book that was published by an indie author? Is there an independent author you think other readers should know about? Leave a comment and tell us about them.

10 Comments

I’m a newy published (just over a month) indie author who decided to go the self-publish route after a good amount of research. And while I love having complete control over my own work, I am also a bit overwhelmed by the time it takes to self-promote and market my own work. I’ve hit social media hard, and have spent a great deal of time and effort to promote my work in a number of different markets. I am lucky to have a day job that affords me more time to work than some other careers (I’m a teacher, so have summers off), but am still having a very difficult time trying to balance the job, the marketing, and finding time to write my next novel!

I have been frustrated by the stigma that the self-published writer is below a market standard, but have also jumped into a number of “new author” forums where the quality of writing wouldn’t be acceptable in my fifth grade classroom. Traditional publishers have been tasked with assuring (for the most part, anyway) that the books that hit the shelves were worthy of publication. If only there were some sort of happy medium in the self-publishing world…

One difficulty for many self-published and indie authors is the need to do all one’s own publicity and marketing. Whilst this is good news for the natural extroverts, for some authors it is the very antithesis of what they should be doing. I wrote about it here (http://wp.me/p1u5Oe-2e) and here (http://wp.me/p16xbS-3F0). These are often the more thoughtful, insightful authors who have something to say that is worth reading and re-reading.

Ben — Please don’t think you have to be an extrovert to be a great marketer. It’s completely untrue, and a very common misconception among authors. I think the problem lies in the fact that some people don’t differentiate between “marketing” and “sales.” Direct sales tactics come to mind, and many writers aren’t comfortable doing that. That’s okay!

The nonfiction book I’m editing right now is actually all about this subject, but for freelance writers who suffer the same marketing fears. It’s called The Query-Free Freelancer, and it details ways you can keep yourself loaded with work without direct marketing like traditional query letters. A lot of things count as marketing, from writing your own blog to commenting on others (as you did here). You never have to be pushy or aggressive to get the job done.

The key is focusing on building your author platform to maintain visibility and develop a built-in audience for your next book. I shared the following article with freelance writers, but I’ll suggest taking a look. These tools and tactics will work equally well for indie authors (and just about any kind of creative professional).

Jennifer – with respect, I am going to stick my neck out and disagree with you. I’m not talking about direct sales, I’m not talking about being pushy and aggressive, I’m talking about the whole concept of self-marketing.

“The key is focusing on building your author platform to maintain visibility and develop a built-in audience for your next book” – this is *exactly* the kind of activity that is counterproductive or even destructive for some writers (not all, I grant you) and that can sap their creative capacity.

In my original article on The Power of Language (http://wp.me/p16xbS-3F) I use the terms ‘introvert’ and ‘extravert’ (sic) in a specific, defined way. I finish that article by saying: “I am left wondering what can be done to support and nurture the writer whose greatness stems from introspection and solitude. For in today’s frenetically interconnected world, perhaps more than ever before, we are in desperate need of the particular qualities that such writers bring – above all, of the deep stillness that restores the soul.”

I do believe – and I see evidence every day – that many (though not all) of the people achieving and claiming “success” in self/indie publishing are better self-promoters than they are writers. This sets a false standard for both success and quality. As I’ve said elsewhere (http://wp.me/p1u5Oe-2e), it also means that much debate that is supposedly about ‘artistic innovation’ is actually about social-media marketing technique.

This is a provocative point of view, I know, but at this stage of the evolution of self-publishing, it does very much look as if the race is to the loudest.

(Incidentally, I am a reader, not a writer; I have absolutely nothing of my own to promote here. I am just interested in the phenomenon I observe, and frustrated by the level of background noise surrounding self-publishing, which makes it hard to find the work of real quality.)

In that case, writers (again, those with an interest in selling) would have another option. Hire someone to help, or barter for the services if necessary. In the end, if someone wants to sell their work they’re going into business. And that means they have a responsibility to either secure financing to get them the services they need help with or to find ways to handle things on their own.

Then again, those in self publishing in it for “the deep stillness that restores the soul” might very well not be in it for the sales. And that’s fine. There is nothing wrong with writing strictly out of passion or because you want to focus on the craft. But that kind of self publishing is actually quite a bit different than “indie publishing” which means you go into business for yourself taking on the full role of publisher (which includes the sales and marketing side). In the latter case, you either suck it up and market your work (aggressively or not), or you bring in help in any way that you can.

I guess the obvious — and cheap — thing to do would be to plug my own indie-published novel, but I am not going to do that. In the last few months, I have encountered a good range of Indie novels. Some haven’t been very good, some have been absolutely fantastic works, and many have been competent novels every bit as good as conventional publishing’s standard fare. I could single out one or two titles that have struck me as great works, but instead I thought I’d share this website — it focuses on Indie authors so it’s a great resource to start looking. It’s called Breakthrough Bookstore: http://www.breakthroughbookstore.com/

Even though I’ve been independently publishing for years, I only recently launched my own site on the subject. And in networking with more indie authors, I’ve been shocked at the publicity whoring and inappropriate self-promotion (like “recommending” your own books on Amazon). So it’s nice to see authors who can get out there and network and build attention without resorting to those near-spam marketing tactics because they seem cheap and easy.

You’re right about there being plenty of poorly written indie books in addition to the gems. I’ve found that getting to know the authors a bit first can help weed out the duds (like reading their blogs to get a better feel for their style).

I guess I’ll just repost what I already wrote on Facebook, as a comment on your article:

“I read the first book of the Diary of a Wimpy kid series at the age of 10, when it was initially published just as a series of blog posts. Watching the movies brought back so many memories.
Just because a book hasn’t been conventionally published doesn’t make it any less good. Fictionpress testifies to that (though, a few of the writers did manage to make the transition to published works)
And BESIDES, publishers are parasites. I don’t think any harm can come from cutting them out of the process completely.As they say, “Writers build castles in the air, readers live in them and publishers collect the rent” ”

I might actually give this independent thing a try if my as of now unwritten, untitled book ever gets finished and then rejected by all publishers x]

First of all, best of luck if you give the indie author route a shot! :) I highly recommend that you start out with a marketing plan — know who you’re writing for and how your work will appeal to them before you get it ready for publication for example, if you plan to sell it.

I do think publishers still have a place for many authors. If you’re an author who thinks “I just want to write,” then you really need a publisher. Even then you’ll be expected to do some marketing as well, but if an author isn’t ready for that and all of the business involved (hiring their own editors and designers, dealing with distribution, etc.) then indie isn’t for them yet. The problem is that many authors really aren’t ready for it. A rejected manuscript doesn’t mean you should go the indie route. It probably means your work needs, well, work. And when you don’t have editors at a publishing house helping you through that process, it falls on you to find the right editors to help you get ready for publication.

You’re absolutely right that non-traditional books can be just as good as traditionally published ones. You just have to make sure you do everything you can to release the best work possible. :)

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